Elara's POV
I stared at Kieran as he leaned against the stone pillar, his eyes sharp, yet distant. His words from last night still came to my mind, and with each passing second, the pieces of the puzzle started to click together. His curse, the one he spoke of so bitterly, wasn't just a part of him—it was the chain that bound him to a life of endless pain.
I could see it now. The curse had twisted his soul, making him into the cold, emotionless man standing in front of me. I could understand it, I could even feel the weight of it, but it didn't change the fact that the man in front of me—this Kieran—was cruel, unforgiving, and full of nothing but hate.
But what unsettled me the most was how my feelings were starting to change. One moment, I hated him with every fiber of my being. His harsh words from last night still burned, and the way he treated me like a tool, like I was nothing more than an object in his game, made my blood boil. But there was something else. Something deep inside me that didn't belong there—pity.
I hated the pity I felt for him.
Kieran had dragged me into his world of chaos and lies, yet there I was, struggling to suppress the urge to sympathize with him. It wasn't my place to pity him. Not when he had been nothing but a shadow of cruelty since day one. He didn't deserve it. Not after everything he'd done.
But then, the moments we shared—began to crawl back into my thoughts, uninvited. The way his eyes had softened, just for a moment, when he spoke about his curse. The hesitation in his voice when he said things that cut too deep. I couldn't ignore the humanity beneath the stone mask he wore.
And then there were his words today, harsh and biting, just as I expected. "What I said last night meant nothing," he said, his tone like a blade. "You shouldn't think for a second that it will change anything between us. I'll still treat you as I always have."
I just stood there, my pulse racing. His cold attitude stung, but I didn't show it. Not anymore.
I was done clashing with him. Done trying to figure out where I stood in his twisted world. If he wanted to push me away, then I would give him exactly what he wanted.
So, I turned away from him. Slowly. Deliberately.
Ignoring him.
I let the silence fill the space between us, my footsteps soft but firm as I walked away. Every instinct screamed to look back, To make him feel the weight of my frustration. But I didn't. I just kept walking.
I heard him shift behind me, the sound of his boots echoing off the stone walls as he followed me. But I didn't turn. I didn't even care to look at him.
I could feel his gaze burning into my back, his irritation growing with every step I took. He didn't say anything at first. He just watched, as if waiting for me to break, to give him the confrontation he was used to.
But I refused.
I wasn't going to give him that satisfaction.
And then, it happened. A soft snarl, barely a sound, escaped his lips. "What the hell are you doing?"
I didn't answer. I kept walking, my fingers staying at my sides to keep from trembling. I could hear his breath, ragged and frustrated, but I refused to turn back.
For the first time since we'd met, Kieran's cold mask was shaking. I could feel it. He was used to being in control, used to making people bend to his will. But this… this was different.
It wasn't the fight he was expecting.
And I could feel the shift.
Finally, when I reached the door to my room, I stopped. The air between us intensified with unspoken tension. I let my hand hover just above the doorknob before I spoke, my voice calm and steady. "If you think that treating me like this will break me, Kieran, you're wrong."
I turned the doorknob and stepped inside, leaving him in the hallway.
Kieran's POV
She walked away. Just like that. No words, no fight, no resistance. I was expecting her to scream, to throw something at me, or at the very least curse me out the way she had before. But this… silence.
She ignored me.
Something crept at the back of my mind. Something unsettling, like an itch I couldn't scratch.
I wasn't used to this. Not from anyone. No one walked away from me like that. Not even the ones I hurt. Not even the ones who were supposed to hate me.
I clenched my jaw, fury rising in my chest as I turned away from the door, my hands curling into fists. I wanted to shout. To demand she come back and face me. But I couldn't.
What was I supposed to feel?
I wasn't used to feeling like this.
It wasn't anger, not really. It wasn't frustration, either. No, it was something else—something unfamiliar that wasin my gut.
Something I didn't have the luxury of understanding.
Without thinking, my legs moved, carrying me out into the woods, away from the mansion, away from the questions that were in my mind. The air was sharp, biting at my skin, but it didn't clear the thoughts I had in my head. Nothing ever did. Not when it came to her.
I walked deeper into the forest, the weight of my past, of everything I had lost, pushing me further. Each step felt heavier, the forest closing in around me as if it was drawing me toward something. Or someone.
I stopped beneath an old oak tree, its branches stretching out like arms, reaching for the sky. The moon was high, distant, like a cold reminder of everything I could never touch. I stared at it, willing myself to focus, but my thoughts kept drifting back to her.
Elara.
I didn't want to care. I didn't want to think about her, but it was impossible. The way she'd looked at me, the way she'd walked away, like I wasn't worth the fight. She wasn't scared of me, not like everyone else. She wasn't angry, not in the way I'd seen from others. She was… indifferent.
And that hurt worse than anything else.
I let out a low growl, my fists tightening as I pressed my back against the rough bark of the tree.
"Focus," I muttered to myself. I couldn't afford to let her get to me. I couldn't afford to care.
But just when I thought I might be able to push her out of my mind, I heard it.
A snap of branches. A faint rustle in the bushes.
I froze, every one of my instincts on high alert.
And then I heard the voice. A voice I hadn't heard in years.
"Well, well. Look what the wind blew in."
My body tensed, my hand sharply reaching for the knife at my side. The voice was like poison, laced with venom, and I knew exactly who it belonged to.
Rowan Hollowshade.
My former best friend. My beta.
The man who betrayed me.
"Rowan…" I breathed, my teeth grinding together.
He stepped in for me to see him better, tall and lean, his long black hair falling loosely around his face. His eyes—once the eyes of a loyal soldier—now a cold, unsettling malice.
"I've been waiting for this day, Kieran," he said, his lips curling into a twisted smile. "I've come to finish what I started."
My heart pounded as memories I'd buried deep resurfaced. The betrayal. The broken trust.
"What do you want, Rowan?" My voice was like steel, low and dangerous.
"I want everything you've got." He took a step forward, his eyes desperate with hunger. "I want your title, your land, your people. I want everything you've ever worked for. And I'm here to take it all."
I didn't move, didn't flinch. But I could feel the rage building in my chest. My hands shook with the need to rip him apart. He had the nerve to show up here, after everything. After he'd walked away from me, left me to pick up the pieces of a shattered pack.
"I trusted you, Rowan." My voice cracked through the tension, but I kept my eyes on him, never breaking contact. "You were my brother. You were supposed to be loyal."
Rowan's laugh was sharp, cutting through the air like a knife. "Loyalty? You think I was ever loyal to you? No, Kieran, I was loyal to power. And now you have none. You're nothing but a shadow of the Alpha you once were. I'm taking over, whether you like it or not."
With a snarl, I lunged at him, my fists meeting his face with the force of years of pent-up fury. He dodged, but I didn't stop. The memory of his betrayal fueled every strike, every punch, as my hands collided with his body, fists meeting flesh, teeth bared.
Rowan fought back, his movements just as quick, just as vicious. We were like animals, locked in a battle that neither of us could back down from.
"You're nothing without me, Kieran," he taunted, his voice dripping with bitterness. "You're weak. And you'll fall just like your father did."
My vision was now blinded with rage. "You don't know anything about strength."
The next moment, I felt the sharp sting of his claws raking across my chest, and I growled in pain, but I didn't back down. I wasn't going to let him win. Not again.